Ciao Apache 37579

Location: Avenida João Luíz Alves, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of Photo: July 29, 2010

The world will be turning its attention to Rio de Janeiro at the end of this week as the 2016 Summer Olympics get underway. Considering the size of the city’s population and area, you would think that athletes and visitors would travel via trains and modern subways.  However, this isn’t the case, Rio de Janeiro or any other Brazilian city.  Many large cities do not have subway systems, and those the systems that do exist are quite small considering the size of the cities they serve.  Therefore, buses form the backbone of the public transit infrastructure in most Brazilian cities, including Rio.  The city is building a new subway line to serve Olympic venues, but it is only scheduled to open today, just five days before the opening ceremony for the games.  With the strong possibility that Line 4 will not be at the starting line so to speak when the challenge to transport the crowds for the Olympics, the buses of Rio de Janeiro will be expected a gold medal as spectators travel around the metropolis over the next few weeks.

For more photos of Rio de Janeiro’s bus system, please click here.